I chose this book as a listen now audiobook on NetGalley not realizing that it was the first of a series nor that it was released 4 years ago. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this listen. Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. It’s described as a cozy mystery and while there is a mystery and the setting is cozy, the story failed to grab me.

Eve is an obituary writer who arrives in a quaint town for 10 days to interview those who knew a recently deceased famous cellist. Once she arrives, she finds thar he has been murdered and takes this as an opportunity to become an amateur detective. As far fetched as that is, I continued but there were just too many characters to keep track of, too many side stories and it was just slow. It took so long for the conclusion and reveal of the murderer that by the time we got there I didn’t care.

If you’re looking for a new series to start this is the one. It is an amazing start to a wonderful series. It’s filled with twist, turns, suspense, and murder.

Mystery on Hidden Lane by Clare Chase. The first in the Eve Mallow mysteries. The author has released 13 in this series so far as well as other series so she is a prolific writer. Thank you to NetGalley for my audio book. The narrator used various accents, including a believable American accent, to narrate the different characters.

Eve Mallow is a celebrity obituary writer based in London. She gets sent by a music magazine to the small village of Saxford St Peter where the celebrated cellist Bernard Fitzpatrick has recently passed away to get the locals thoughts on him. While there it is revealed that he didn’t die of natural causes, he was murdered.

Eve is a bit of a busy body and starts snooping around with the locals to find out who murdered Bernard. She has her little dachshund Gus with her and she talks about her various theories with him while they go walking on the beach. Before long another body is found.

While Eve is interviewing people for her column, she finds out that there are plenty of possible suspects as Bernard was not well liked.

I love the small village vibe of the locals who gather at the pub; the pink-haired baker who makes delicious sounding cakes; and the gossipy café owner who knows everything that happens in town.

This is a good cozy mystery. I was disappointed and confused to see it was actually published 4 yrs ago.
Thanks for the opportunity to listen to this book.

I believe this is the first I’ve read of this author.
In fact, this is the first book in a new series…BUT, it looks like the book was released a few years ago.
Since I just received the ARC from NetGalley, I’m assuming the audiobook is being released now.

That being said, this seems to be a good start for the series with lots of character building. My problem was that I seemed to keep drifting off at times, and I think it was due to the large amount of background and characters being introduced. Therefore, I was overloaded a bit. But again, as this is the first in a new series, there is a reason for this!

That being said, Eve is the FMC. She is a part-time obituary writer for a local paper, and she’s been assigned to cover the story of a well known Cellist who just passed…in another part of the UK. So she travels there from London to write the story…but when she arrives, she finds out that he did not just die, he was MURDERED!

As she begins to interview people to find out about his LIFE, she realizes that the locals are more apt to give her information about his death! 😮
And so, she now morphs into an amateur sleuth.

It was definitely entertaining, and I’d read another in the series to see how it goes on from here! Interested to hear others thought on this one as well!

3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me, rounded up to 4!

#MysteryOnHiddenLane (Eve Mallow Mysteries #1) by #ClareChase and narrated by #ElidhBeaton (with a heavy British accent) ! 😬

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BookoutureAudio for an ARC of the audiobook. I think it may have been released already? Not sure… I know the book was released in 2020.

Feel free to like, follow and friend me on: Goodreads,
Insta @ #BookReviews_with_emsr and/or
My Facebook Book Club: Book Reviews With Elaine.

Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

Seasoned obituary writer Eve Mallow has a new assignment: to tell the life story of famed musician Bernard Fitzpatrick. A chance to spend a few days in the sweet Suffolk village of Saxford St Peter, walking the country lanes with her beloved dachshund Gus and meeting new people sounds like a dream. On the day she arrives, news breaks that the charismatic cellist was murdered. As Eve starts to interview Bernard’s friends and colleagues, she finds that he’d ruffled a few feathers. In fact, from the keepers of the Cross Keys Inn to his own staff at High House, there’s barely a person in town who doesn’t have some reason to hate him. Eve hoped Saxford St Peter would be the perfect escape from her busy city life. When a second body is found, Eve becomes certain that one of the people she’s met must be the murderer.
This is the first in a new series & the audiobook took me back to the beginning. If you love cosy mysteries & murders then this will be right up your street. The narrator brought the book to life & made me fall for the series once again. I warmed to Eve immediately & loved that she was moving on with her life even if Ian was trying to undermine her confidence.
I voluntarily listened and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own